A pair of African Crowned Cranes

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

EastAfrica0321 by docsanjeev, on Flickr
7D and 100-400 L
1/800
f/5.6
ISO 400

[John Chardine]

Hi Sanjeev- One of my favourite birds after seeing them in London Zoo when I was young. I like this one. The position of both birds is good and you have them both in focus, which is often not easy when you have two or more birds in the frame. The righthand bird's eye is slightly softer than the left and you could enhance this by spot-sharpening the eye a little. Looks like you had just the right light to expose well (soft) and retain detail in those white cheeks and in the darker feathers. I might slightly lighten the foreground area

[Kerry Perkins]

Very nice Sanjeev, your exposure and color rendition are superb. This is one of the most spectacular birds on the planet and I really envy your opportunity to photograph them. Your image illustrates excellent control of the whites and a very neutral color balance. Your challenge is to find these birds in a setting with a more homogenous background and environment. You really got a good return on your DOF budget at f/5.6, which is a result of your keen observation in seeing the two birds as being almost the same distance from your camera. This is a good lesson for all of us! Thanks for sharing.

[Jeannean Ryman]

Good suggestions and critiques. Gorgeous birds!

[Ken Watkins]

Sanjeev,

A really spectacular capture of these beautiful birds, the water sets them off nicely.

Icing on the cake is the feather ruffle